294 A FARMER'S YEAR 



growing corn than to root crops. Perhaps, however, they are most 

 troublesome in the case of young trees, for, wire these in as one 

 will, they manage to burrow beneath the fence and to kill the 

 saplings by gnawing the sweet bark off their stems. 



August 6. Last Wednesday Hood went to Harleston market, 

 which is a very good one, in the hope of picking up some young 

 home-bred beasts at a moderate figure. This he did not succeed 

 in doing, but he reports that fat cattle were selling as low as six 

 shillings a stone. This is an utterly unremunerative price, caused 

 by the plentiful root-crop of last year ; but now the beet is done, 

 and poor farmers have to empty their yards and take what 

 they can get. Yesterday and the day before we were horse- 

 and hand-hoeing the root, and to-day, which is dull with heavy 

 showers of rain, we are carting house coal as well. To-day, also, we 

 have finally arranged with the men for the forthcoming harvest. 



It will be remembered that this can be done on two systems : 

 namely, the hands can agree for a month, after which, should the 

 in-gathering take longer, they must complete it at their ordinary 

 wage ; or they can agree for * the harvest,' receiving a lump sum, 

 be it long or short. Under this arrangement, of course, it is to 

 their interest to get through their task at the greatest possible 

 rate of speed, since every day saved is a day upon which they can 

 be earning wage over and above the stipulated sum. It is 

 perfectly marvellous how hard men will labour under this system 

 of piece-work. At Ditchingham this year we have about ninety- 

 one acres of corn to be gathered by seven men, each man receiving 

 7/. ictf., including the hiring shilling to be paid according to 

 ancient custom. Query Is this hiring shilling the origin of the 

 queen's shilling formerly given to a recruit on his enlistment ? 

 For this the hands are tc do all that is necessary, that is, to cut, to 

 carry, to stack, to trim, &c., thatching alone excepted. It will be 

 seen that the average area to each man is thirteen acres, which is 

 two above what is usual. This is accounted for by the fact that I 

 intend to purchase the reaper, which will be thrown into the harvest 



